My Latest Modeling Pictures

Did I ever mention that I do some modeling? No? Well I wouldn't call myself a model by any means but I signed up for Model Mayhem a few months ago and have done a few photo shoots with people I met through the site. I'm not expecting to get paid for anything (although money is always welcome!) but I am having a lot of fun and meeting new people which is always wonderful. These are my most bestest photos from a shoot that was mainly focused on hair styling. I'm quite impressed with the outcome. It was such a collaborative effort between the photographer, the hair and make up artists and myself. What do you think?

Round Top Fun

I'll be traveling to Round Top, Texas outside of Austin this weekend to attend the Round Top Antique Fair. I'm going to do some serious shopping with my mom and my MIL. So serious in fact that we are staying in a campsite nearby to be able to shop multiple days. I'm very exited!

Round Top Antique Fair

Some things I will be hunting for;
Dining table and chairs (preferably non-matching)
Wall art type things
Something to put a flat screen on in the bedroom
A kitchen island
A chair for my vanity
A chair for my secretary desk in the guest bedroom
Tins
Teapots
and anything else that catches my fancy!

Of course I won't be able to afford all these things but it's doubtful I would find everything my heart desires in perfect condition and for the perfect price. That would be craaaazy! I will take lots of prictures for you!

Some Fall Decor

I was wandering the rows of my local Homegoods last weekend and thinking of decorating the house for fall. Most of their fall decor items however, how shall I say...blew. So I started thinking of what some nice little fall items could be and put together some options for you to peruse.

You could start with a wreath, make one or support a local artist and find something unique.

From twoinspireyou

Maybe add in some new dishes in some nice spice colors.

From World Market

Try changing out some artwork in a seasonal color palette. Nothing like a nice piece of artwork to change the look of a room.

From California Abstract

Add a table runner or placemats. These don't have to be limited to a table they can go anywhere your heart desires. I like these embroidered items, they are beautifully detailed, still feel a bit feminine and are a great price.

From KainKain



Some new terrariums with a fall theme is a small but whimsical way to add fall in your decor. Plus, you could change out the little decorative items inside to go with each holiday or season.

From GreenBriar

Decorating for fall is a bit challenging for me personally because I like very bright colors and vibrant patterns which don't always read fall. However, you can still find pieces that don't sacrifice your individual style. Sadly though, I won't be buying any fall decorations because my house needs regular decorations before I can get season specific. Which is just as much fun!

What are you doing to decorate for fall?

We got a new dog!

Everyone, please to meet the newest member of our family, Atari! He is a 9 month old cream Shiba Inu that we rescued after his former owners kept him locked in a room as a puppy and finally surendered him to a rescue group. He is such a sweet little guy!

Quite the precarious sleeping position.

Akira is enjoying playing with her new brother. Although, she is still being protective of her palace she is gradually coming around.

Meowser was not amused

We are so happy with our little family. We have been wanting to adopt another Shiba for quite some time and for one reason or another it never worked out until now. It makes me feel like we were meant to wait until Atari was ready for us!

How the eff did I not know about this?

Did you guys know there was going to be an Anna sui for Target line? I didn't...it's offered only at certain Targets. I will be scouring all said Targets withinn driving distance to collect. She is one of my favorite designers. Hopefully it's not too late!

Need your brains!

Ok that sounded a bit zombie-ish. Long story short my dance group has decided to leave our studio and re-invent themselves and we need a new name. Suggestions please! Any ideas are welcome, you never know what may inspire someone!

My newest obssession

They blocked Pandora at my office and it has been KILLING ME! Luckily I found this new glorious website http://8tracks.com/home. Users create a playlist containing 8 tracks or more and no more than 2 songs by the same artist in each playlist. Then they share with other users. The catch is you can't listen to your own playlists. The reason it's legal is because it's meant to function like a radio, as in you can't play any song you want to hear when you want it, and you also can't see what songs are on someone's mix until you hear it. But I've quite enjoyed browsing other people's mixes and finding new music. I've made three mixes of my own so far. I'm starting to get the hang of it, you know having themes and whatnot. So visit, and check out mixes by browneyesbrandi. Enjoy!

Where were you?

In remembrance of this day a mere 8 years ago I would like to hear when and where you were when you heard about this tragedy and how you felt.

I was 16 years old, in my junior year of high school. I had just gotten out of first period and I was chatting in the hall with Kirsten. Another friend Carlie came up and told us that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. Of course we had many questions but no one seemed to know what was going on. By the time I got to second period word was released that another plane had hit the second tower. We didn't go over our planned agendas in any of our classes that day, we just sat and watched tv. A short time later we watched both towers come crashing down and heard as it was announced that two more planes had been hijacked and crashed in Pennsylvania and one at the pentagon. It was frightfully clear by then that we, The United States of America, were the victims of a terrorist attack, right here on our own soil. My high school is practically in the backyard of NASA so parents began to show up and pull their kids out of school for fear that there would be more attacks. My mom decided I should stay at school because my house was actually closer to NASA than my school is. You could also hear the boys that were 18 talking in the halls saying things like "That's it, we're going to war!" "We're all going to get drafted...". It was a terrifying thing to hear. It was the first time I had experienced war and terror in my lifetime as I was too young to remember Dessert Storm.

It seems, although unfortunate, that every generation experiences a time like this. They remember exactly where they were, what they were doing, and how they felt. For my parent's generation it was the day JFK was assasinated, for my grandparent's it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Please share your story in the comments. Thanks!

I'm giddy like a schoolgirl!

http://www.wallpaperfromthe70s.com/

Yesssss!

I see cool wallpaper all the time on blogs but I can never buy it because they only sell wholesale but here you can buy samples and wall-fulls galore!

The Ultimate Vanity for Humanity

Jennifer and I set up a window for our new brand Cindy Crawford Style. We wanted it to feel very feminine with a lot of fabric and pretty things and it came out beautiful! The vanity set in this brand has great lines and looks even better with a few of our personal accessories added in.

What do you think?

Help me remodel my bathroom!

Ok I need some serious advice. Scott and I would like to start remodeling our master bath. As you may have read previously it only half works. And by half that means only the sinks and now the toilet since we've replaced it. You may have noticed that my taste is a mixture of vintage, moroccan, bohemian, shabby chic-ness. The house we live in is a typical brick suburban box that we only plan to live in for about 5 years so I don't really want to do it specifically to my taste but to something I can enjoy for a few years that the next owner will not feel they have to re-do. I would like to have a bit of vintage style to the bathroom through tiles, vanity, and a chandeleir over the whirlpool tub. The vanities have to be built in so the fancy furniture looking options are out. I also need maximum cabinet and counter top space so leave other frou frou options out as well. My dillema is this: What cabinet style and tiles for the shower will work best? Here are some inspiration photos (and I'm bad but I don't have the origins of any of these. Just google "vintage bathrooms" and "bathroom tiles" and such and they shall appear)

I like the finish and the beveled-ish shape on the doors but not much else on this one

tiles?

These tiles seem nice and I like the wall color

tiles?

Love these cabinets! Another question...I have brushed nickel faucets and a sepia colored framed mirror. Can you mix hardwares like in this picture? I have always thought that was a no no but I have seen several pictures with brushed nickel faucets and the dark hardware like above. Thoughts?

These cabinets are pretty. Not sure if they will work in my bathroom but still nice.

So please pour forth all your bathroom knowledge upon me! I need help!

Spicy Vegan Soup

Some of you who know me personally also know that I'm a vegetarian. And those of you who are vegetarian know that it's easy to get in a food rut. So then you get creative, like this recipe from Jennifer, which inspired me to share one of my own favorite recipes given to me by Fira Saturn a few years ago. It's spicy (which you can dial up or down depending on your taste) but it's quite hearty for a vegan soup and goes great with those scoop tortilla chips.

1 onion
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tbs olive oil
1 fresh jalapeno (unseeded)
2 cans vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 package frozen corn
2 pealed potatoes
1 package corn chips

1. Slice onion and cook in vegetable oil and pepper. Once slightly browned, add the (seeds removed) chopped jalapeno and sear for a bit.
2. Pour in Broth, water and potatoes (chopped into cubes) and bring to a boil.
3. Mash potatoes in soup once cooked
4. Remove from heat
5. Add frozen corn and let sit for 3 min (after stirring)
6. Garnish with cheese, cilantro and avocado

If you have some recipes share them! We could have a blogger cookbook!

The Honeymoon Part 3, Florence

Read Part 1 and Part 2

After Amalfi we took another terrifying bus ride back to the train station to get to Florence. Everyone I knew who had been to Italy had said that Florence was their favorite city and I can see why. One of the first things we saw was the beautiful duomo and this picture was the view from the front door of our apartment building.
Our apartment in Florence was very authentic. It was on the second floor and we had to walk through about 4 locked doors to get into it. It was a studio but it had wood floors, high ceilings, and old furniture. It also had a terrace with roses that was bigger than the apartment itself, amazing!

The great thing about Florence is that you could see the whole city on foot and in about 2 hours. The first day we spent just walking around and taking in the sights. Like the Ponte Vechio.

Carousel in one of the many squares

These sidewalk artists draw amazing works of art in chalk on the sidewalk everyday. Every night the street sweepers come by and clean it and the next day there they are again repainting.

The next day we went the Pitti Palace which is the former home of the Medici family. There was a costume museum there which I loved. Historical dress fascinates me. They seem so intricate and beautiful compared to today's dressing standards. They also had clothing that the mother and son of the family were buried in. The mother had caught what they believed to be tuberculosis and died suddenly. As you know this disease was very contagious so she was hastily dressed and prepared for burial. They showed what she had been wearing and how her corsets and garments had been laced improperly or been put on backwards. She was also buried in her everyday clothing instead of the more formal garb that royals were traditionally buried in. Her young son died shortly thereafter but I don't remember from what. Can you tell I love stuff like this? History of costume was one of my favorite classes in college.

There was also an expansive garden on the grounds called Giardino de Bambini or "Children's Garden" I believe. I was expecting a lot of flowers but it was mainly grassy areas so I was sort of dissapointed. Maybe it just wasn't in season that time of year (May).

There was an amazing view though

We also went to a gallery that housed the Statue of David. I could see why it is such an amazing piece of art. It was carved from one piece of marble that a church had just sitting outside in the weather. They also say the proportions match almost the exact proportions of the human body. They don't let you take pictures inside the museum but we did see an exact replica in one of the squares, close enough I guess.

Then we took a bus ride out to visit Pisa. On the way we drove by the ancient Roman Aqueducts that are still standing. I wish they would've stopped for us to see them up close. It's crazy to think that people in Europe just pass by ancient pieces of art and architecture everyday. The highway that people probably ride on to get to work just goes right by the aqueducts. It's this kind of thing that makes America feel so young and... so boring. One thing about Pisa though, the only thing in this town is the church with the leaning tower and a bunch of souvenir stands, that's it. So if you're planning on going there don't plan to spend the day or anything it's a 3 or 4 hour excursion from Florence and back tops, just an fyi.

There were a lot of people in this area doing the whole look like you're leaning against the tower picture thing

The inside of the church is very beautiful. At one point in time the church had no roof and the Medici family donated this vaulted cieling with 24 carat gold inlaid into it. There was also a dead guy in a box, I forget his name...

Interesting tidbit: they don't actually know who was the architect for the tower. It was such an embarassment that no one wanted to claim it. The tower also had two architects. After the first few floors were built and the tower started to lean the project was abandoned. Then, another brave architect thought he could correct it and finished the tower although it still leans. That is why the tower has a slight banana shape to it.

The next day we had a bicycle tour through the Tuscan countryside that we booked on expedia. If you are planning on going I highly recommend this tour. It was one our favorite things we did not just in Florence but in all of Italy. Not for the light of heart it was an 8 hour bicycle tour through the meandering hills of Tuscany. I think we rode about 15 miles that day and all but the last hour was uphill. There are frequent water breaks for rest and sightseeing though. Our first destination was to the hilltop town of Fiesole where we got some amazing pictures.

This is someone's awesome pool overlooking Florence

The view from Fiesole

Then we rode to a little cafe for lunch with locally produced wine, olive oil, and ingrediants. Very delicious! Afterwards we stopped at the vineyard where our lunch came from for a tour and wine tasting, very cool!

House on the vineyard

We got to sample wine and olive oil straight from the clay pots they keep them in. The oil was so unique, it had a certain zest to it that tickled the back of your throat.

Our tour guide was an American who had been living there for a few years which was nice. Obviously, I don't have to say how good all the food was but by this time there was one thing we were desperately needing, breakfast! And I don't mean some croissants and a cappucino, we wanted a real American breakfast with french toast (some fuckin french toast, 40 year old virgin anyone?), and pancakes, and potatoes, and some orange juice that while good you didn't have to chew. This is my only complaint about the food, there I said it. Luckily our guide told us about an "American Diner" that served such delicacies, we went that very night. We ordered so much food I wish I had a photo, it was ridiculous!

Also, even though our apartment was in a great location by the duomo the problem with it was it was by the duomo. Which meant church bells, every 15 minutes, as loudly as possible, and starting at 7:30 am. Oh well, who wants to spend their vacation sleeping all day anyways.

If you have any fond memories of any of your trips please share in the comments. I would love to hear!

Stay tuned for the final installment, Part 4 in Venice!